The present invention relates to a job processing method, a job processing unit, and a storage managing system, particularly to those for processing a plurality of jobs defined as a job net.
The prior art disclosed in JP-A No. 32258/2002 and JP-A No. 282551/2001 provides methods for automatically executing a plurality of jobs defined as job net. In job processing methods using this prior art, a “job” may be one command or a script in which a procedure for executing a plurality of commands or programs is stated. For example, to execute a backup command BU of a backup tool A, the command BU and its parameter are specified for a job definition.
Generally, various products having similar functions have been brought to the market. For example, backup tools sold by different vendors provide some unique functions, but mainly function in the same way as one another (backup and restore of data). The same goes for database management tools, large storage management tools, virtual volume management tools, and ability management tools.
Commands or scripts for these tools are usually specified for jobs in a job net. Job definitions need to be changed depending on a product to be used. For example, a backup command of a backup tool A is assumed to be BUa. The BUa is defined as a job. When a backup tool B is used, the job definition needs to be changed to a backup command BUb of the backup tool B. This means that, although the commands BUa and BUb have the same function, the job definition needs to be changed. This is because different products have different command names and different option specifying methods. Commands and scripts, such as the backup commands BUa and BUb, of tools providing functions required by a user are hereinafter called real commands.
In a small system, management using the aforementioned jobs in the job net does not cause serious problems when the job definitions are changed. When the tool B is used instead of the tool A because of integration of large systems, all the job definitions need to be changed from the command names and options for the tool A to those for the tool B although there are few differences between the contents of the job nets of the tools A and B. As a management tool for large storage, however, challenges are presented because the capacity of storage is expanding quickly, and personnel managing the storage use some storage management tools which expand daily. In a huge data center, large storage of different manufacturers may be used, and thus different management tools may be required for the different storage. In such a case, the aforementioned prior art require a command name defining a job to be changed depending on a storage to be used. This causes a heavy burden on a system manager.